breweries

Wartime limits on beer production were imposed in March 1942, requiring breweries to reduce their output to two-thirds of previous levels. The resulting beer shortages led to widespread profiteering and black-marketing. Some hotel keepers diverted beer from public bars to lounge bars where it was sold at inflated prices. Others more unscrupulous withheld beer from their customers, and passed it on at greater profit to the black-market. Beer shortages also encouraged the illegal activity of home-brewing, and many home-brewers were convicted of making beer without a licence. Among them was a 66-year-old man who was found in 1941 at his house in Sydney with sugar, hops, malt, galvanised vats, and more than one-thousand bottles of beer. He copped a larger fine than most home-brewers of the time because he was selling his beer. The most enduring effect of war, insofar as beer in Australia is concerned, was probably its damaging effect on the image and reputation of the beverage. Second World War shortages and black-marketing set against the background of early closing of pubs, a First World War imposition, stigmatised beer, and especially its consumption in pubs. Through the immense up-welling of interest in beer which presently engulfs us, however, this damage is gradually and persistently being undone. Source: www.brewsnews.com.au/2012/07/17/beer-and-war-in-australia/

Roll out the Barrel comes to mind ! Now that's working up a thirst ! If I have read / guessed correctly, the beer is Mc Crackens XXX Ale? There was a Robert Mc. Cracken who was a brewer in the 1800's, but his business was taken over by Carlton&United Breweries in 1907.

Hi Bob. McCracken does appear to be the brand on the barrel. Victorian beer in North Queensland, who would have thought?

State Library of Queensland Were there beer wars due to the brand loyalties in the different Territories ? I'm sure that like us Poms, your blokes wouldn't give a XXXX about who's beer they drank when the needs be. We know for fact that you Diggers will cry your eyes out if a pubs got no beer ....... Ask Slim Dusty ;-)) Here'a a picture from my pal Kaye, of Cairns Station, taken about the same time. I wonder how many barrels got to their destination during this arduous cask task !

Cyclones and floods were a problem in Queensland in 1911 as they are today 100 years on. On 11 January 1911 a tropical cyclone passed from the Gulf of Carpentaria inland and caused severe destruction at Marburg in South West Queensland with areas suffering gale force winds. The Cairns-Kuranda railway has a spectacular history of dislocation by landslides, the earliest of which was recorded during its construction in 1891. The most disruptive incident however, occured on the 15th December 1910 when a landslide, after a period of intense rainfall, partly closed the Kuranda end of the no 10 tunnel for more than 2 months. Trains could only travel as far as the tunnel and passengers had to de-train and walk around the outside of the tunnel to another train to continue their journey. Because the railway was the main freight connection between inland towns and the port at Cairns, the blockage was very disruptive. Over 300 men were used to clear the damage and stabilise the slide. It was not until 6 March 1911 that the line was cleared and reopened to all traffic. Source: www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/queensland-100-years-ago-cairns-k...

Whatever is the weather the supply of beer remains important.

"Fourex, The memory of the last bottle sells the beer in the next bottle of XXXX."

Thank you for the translation.

Victorian brothers Nicholas and Edward Fitzgerald bought the site of a failing distillery on Milton Road in 1877 and opened a brewery which they named Castlemaine after a brewery they already owned in Castlemaine, Victoria. The first beer was brewed there in 1878 and was named XXX Sparkling Ale. XXXX Bitter was introduced in 1924 after Castlemaine brewery employed a German brewer, Alhois William Leitner. Cartoon character Mr Fourex appeared in advertising at the same time. In 1928 Perkins brewing company was purchased by Castlemaine Brewing to form Castlemaine Perkins Limited. Castlemaine Perkins merged with Tooheys in 1980 to form Castlemaine Tooheys and the company was acquired by Alan Bond's Bondcorp in 1985 and taken over by Lion Nathan in 1990. XXXX Gold was introduced in 1991. In 2009 Japanese company Kirin Holdings assumed 100% ownership of Lion Nathan which was renamed Lion in 2011. Although the Milton Brewery has been in operation on the same site since 1877 much of the production of XXXX Bitter now takes place in the Tooheys brewery in Western Sydney and XXXX Gold is also produced in South Australia. Source: www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/castlemaine-perkins-brewery-histo...